Brands Research Assignment: Forever Versus Obsolete

Forever versus Obsolete
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Abstract
Brands are not expected to last forever; however, due to certain products dimension maintained such as goods, services, administration, employees, signs, and connections serves as competitive advantage in the marketplace which leads to maintaining their name and continue to have a positive brand-consumer relationship.
Brands cannot be expected to last forever versus there is no reason for a brand to ever become obsolete. First, we discuss what a brand is. A brand is designated to a goods or service from a firm (McLaughlin, 2011). Product variables such as goods, services, administration, employees, signs, and connections serve as a competitive advantage for a line to last. The administration of the brand must always monitor changes in the environment, customer predilection, tactics, and advent of technology to equip the brand with “point-of-differences and/or points-of-parity to continue the success in the market (Kotler, 2012). As generations of brands passed, it is unavoidable for brands to have a steady decline followed by brand death, such a Nokia, Blackberry, Woolsworth, Motorola, and Polaroid and there are those who have been revived over the years such as Twinkies, Lego, Marvel, Nintendo, and Volkswagen. Investments which were made to build a brand are lost when a brand dies and as such, even the powerful brands (such as Coca-cola) of high net worth are not immune from brand reduction and subsequent brand death (Sunil & Chiranjeev, 2009).
Which side do I choose? Well, I side with “There is no reason for brands to ever become obsolete”. Before I explain my decision, what makes a good brand? As stated before, it must have a upper hand over other and modern brands. Another factor is that a brand with higher finances for advertising will yield a higher level of band equity (Cobb-Walgren, Ruble, Donthu, 2013). A good and trusted brand-consumer relationship must be established between known labels with the consumers. Brand trust, brand satisfaction, and brand attachment play a major role in a consumer’s buying behavior (Esch, Langner, Schmitt, & Geus, 2006). With these in mind, even if a brand lasts forever, decline will happen as consumer wants and needs alter, evolve, or recede; therefore, brands must adapt to these changes to stay in the game. The loss of the brands “point-of-difference in the marketplace or the lack of point-of-parity with other labels will cause its death (Kotler, 2012). Companies must understand and accept brand declines and create a plan of and marketing of newer labels to change dying lines faster. If a brand is to enact a certain function, changes in technologies may render a brand obsolete and view its market decline. However, as argued by Thomas, and Kohli, brands may be revived; in their work, they highlighted a few examples such as the Harley Davidson issue when the company decided to compete with Japan’s small line ...